Mum turns heartache of losing her triplets one by one – before her husband died of cancer – into force for good

But through all that hurt – the kind of pain most would struggle to come to terms with – Sophie has not only survived, she's founded a charity to help premature babies and written a book.


What started as an unthinkable tragedy that took her to the deepest pit of despair has turned into a force for good, pushing Sophie to do all she can in the name of her husband and kids.

Like any parents-to-be, Sophie and her husband, Ash, were thrilled when they discovered she was pregnant with triplets in 2006.

But their joy soon turned to panic when she went into labour at 21 weeks – 39 weeks too early.

In the next 81 days of hell Sophie and Ash would lose all three of their triplets.


"We thought we were the luckiest people in the world when we found out we were pregnant three times over," Sophie said.

"Having three extra hearts beating inside me felt like the greatest miracle, and I thought we had been blessed

"Perhaps we were naive but we never for one moment thought we wouldn’t be bringing all three of our babies home.

"We understood they would most probably be born early and would need a stay in hospital, that there would be tubes and it would be hard, and we’d have to wait to hold them, and even that life could be a bit of a roller-coaster until they fattened up and came home."

But no one was prepared for just how early the triplets planned on arriving.

Sophie, from Sydney in Australia, was 21 weeks pregnant when her waters broke during a trip to the supermarket.

Describing the moment she felt a "gush" of liquid between her legs, Sophie said: "It didn’t even occur to me that my waters had broken – I just put it down to a strange pregnancy related bladder leak.

"So I quickly finished my shop and drove home. However when I arrived home it happened again, this time with much more liquid, and that’s when I started to worry.

"I went straight up to the hospital, they checked the liquid and a doctor told me ‘Your waters have broken. You will most likely go into labour within 24 hours and all your babies are going to die'."

Five days later the first triplet, Henry, was born weighing just under 1lb.

"He gave the tiniest cry, really just a squeak, when he was born, and lay on my chest and I felt his heart beating against my own," Sophie recalled.

"His tiny hand squeezed on to my finger and we spent one very beautiful hour together, and he knew only love. An hour after he was born he passed away."

Incredibly, Henry's brothers were able to hold on a little longer and weren't born until 24 weeks.

Jasper and Evan were born via emergency caesarian.

"We had come so far and so were full of hope for Jasper and Evan when they were born and they were given a 50 per cent chance of survival," Sophie said.

"I truly believed they would make it. Jasper weighed 1.6lbs and Evan just 1.3lbs, their eyes were still sealed shut and their skin translucent."

Kept in the neonatal intensive care unit, Sophie and Ash weren't allowed to hold their sons but would spend hours staring at them in their cribs, holding their tiny hands, hoping they'd find the strength to pull through.

Then, 10 days later, Sophie was allowed to hold little Evan but not for the reasons she'd hoped.


After their loss Sophie and Ash founded the Running for Premature Babies Foundation, which encourages people to run half marathons in aid of neonatal equipment and research.

Through all the heartache, Sophie and Ash decided they wanted to try for another baby and little Owen was born 20 months later.

"I genuinely loved everything about being a mum to Owen, and treasured even the less glamorous things like changing his nappy and getting up in the night to feed him in the early weeks and months," Sophie, now 48, said.

"The sound of him crying was music to my ears, as my triplets had been too sick to cry. He was the most beautiful, happy, healthy little bundle and Ash and I were smitten."

But tragedy struck the family again when fit and strong Ash, then 35, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when Owen was six months old.

He was given just a year to live.

The couple tackled his illness head on and decided to start IVF to have another child.

Their second son, Harvey, was born around the same time Ash was told he was in remission.

For five wonderful years Sophie thought the worst was behind her, but then Ash's brain tumour returned.

After every surgery he battled to survive until eventually he succumbed to his illness in February 2016.

"Ash was determined to prove his doctors wrong, and he faced his illness with the most incredible positivity and courage," Sophie said.

"Ash was my best friend as well as my husband. He was an amazing man, and as it says on his headstone he was ‘loving, funny, kind and brave.’

"He taught me it’s never okay to give up."

It was that attitude that encouraged Sophie to become involved with Running for Premature Babies Foundation (RPBF).

Sophie was determined to reach the goals the couple had set for Henry, Jasper and Evan’s 10th birthday year.

Exactly 3 months after Ash died Sophie and 520 people ran the Sydney half marathon for RPBF.

They raised over $300,000 bringing the fundraising total to £1.4 million, and it was Sophie's fastest ever race.

"After Ash died it was once again Running for Premature Babies that saved me through my darkest time, and gave me a sense of purpose.

"This race was extra special as it wasn’t just in honour of Henry, Jasper and Evan, but in honour of Ash too.

"That day in the race I ran faster than I ever had before and felt like Ash was right there beside me every step of the way."

Sophie has also written a book, Sophie's Boys, on her experience of love and loss.

"People often tell me how unlucky I am, but that’s not the way I look at it," Sophie said.

"I know I’ve been incredibly lucky to have experienced the kind of love that I have, and I wouldn’t swap that for anything.

"It is true that Ash and I experienced great heartbreak, but we also experienced enormous joy and deep love, and we supported each other throughout it all.

"Of course I do feel sad, and I wish things had turned out differently. I miss Ash terribly, but I definitely never waste time asking ‘why me?’, I have so much to be grateful for.

"We got to spend any time at all with our triplets, we had six blissful months with Owen before Ash’s diagnosis, Ash outlived his prognosis by six years, we got to have another baby even after cancer, and  I spent 15 years with my soul mate experiencing the deepest of love.

"Twelve years on I now understand that time does actually help you heal, but it does nothing to diminish the strength of your love.

"I love my boys as much today as I did the day they died.

"Don't be scared to ask for help and support. Sometimes people around you don’t know what to say or how to help.

"It’s not because they don’t care, but only because they don’t know how. If you want to talk about your babies, tell your friends and ask them to listen. Never be afraid to speak aloud your baby's name."

Since RPBF was set up, it has since raised £1.7m to provide 45 pieces of life-saving equipment to hospitals around Australia, which has saved around 4,500 lives.



 

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